Somersworth Housing Authority shuffling positions after resignation

SOMERSWORTH — The Housing Authority's Board of Commissioners are in the midst of a reshuffling effort following the resignation of Chairman Constance Margowski earlier this month.

In the aftermath of Margowski's November 13 departure, former SHA commissioner and hearing officer Marty Dumont has been appointed to fill one of the Board's five seats.

On Thursday, Commissioners are slated to elect one of their fellow Board members as the new chair during a special meeting to fill the recently-vacated position. Dumont said current Vice Chairman Joan Lynch has not expressed an interest in the role.

“I think we need to continue to move forward from this difficult time,” Dumont said, referencing a six-year period during which nearly $1 million was stolen by the Authority's former fiscal director, Lisa Reid. “I think we've cleared the hurdle. We have so many great people and great employees with the Housing Authority — we need to keep pushing forward.”

On November 13 — the night Margowski announced her resignation — Dumont said he received a call from Mayor Matthew Spencer asking him to fill the empty seat. Before that, Dumont said he contacted Mayor Spencer almost one year ago after the community learned of the large-scale thefts, which totaled approximately $920,000.

“When these developments evolved I called the mayor and he later asked myself and Paul Robidas to join the Board,” Dumont said. Robidas, along with Dumont, Lynch, Robert Crichton, and Lori Bennett compose the current five-member Board. However, a misinterpretation regarding the seat Dumont was slated to fill ultimately prevented him from joining.

“The mayor told me to hang tight instead,” Dumont said. “And, when the chair left earlier this month he gave me a call.”

Dumont, who served as the Board's chairman back in 2008, also served as a hearing officer with the Housing Authority for 11 years. In that role, which first began in 1997, Dumont would overhear cases involving the Housing Authority and evicted tenants and remediate differences between the two parties.

“We're still reviewing everything and discussions are still ongoing,” he said in reference to the thefts. “As time goes by there's going to be some big decisions we're going to have to make.”

And, many of these big decisions include the internal composition of the Housing Authority — an issue which was squarely thrust into the spotlight following an auditor's report that was previously completed in October.

That report — conducted by the firm Hurley, O'Neill & Company of Quincy, Mass. — ultimately cited a lack of internal controls that could have prevented the SHA's former fiscal director from stealing the funds.

“Management and the Board of Commissioners have not operated a control environment conducive to the prevention and detection of fraud and illegal acts as evidenced by fraud perpetrated by a former employee,” one section of the report reads.

“The employee relied on the failures of management and the Board of Commissioners to implement effective controls,” another section of the October 25 report states. “Proper segregation of duties in various controls activities would have reduced or eliminated the opportunity to commit fraud and basic monitoring procedures would have detected it.”

On Dec. 6, 2011, Reid reportedly admitted to SHA director Beth Salinger she had stolen the funds amid personal financial troubles. Somersworth police approached Reid later that same day, but she requested a lawyer, effectively shutting down communication with law enforcement.

Reid was found dead the next morning from an apparent suicide by drug overdose.

Seeking to recoup its losses, SHA filed suit in January against Reid's husband, Scott Reid, who now controls his late wife's assets. SHA is asking a superior court judge to put a temporary freeze on those assets, which include property, vehicles, and income from the couple's furniture store in Rochester.

Emails furnished by Reid's husband during the court battle have tipped investigators off to the existence of at least two online trading accounts Lisa Reid operated before her death, according to court documents.

Salinger said the housing authority is anticipating it may need a court order to determine if the accounts are still active, and whether they contain funds. Scott Reid has indicated he will cooperate with the housing authority in the investigation, according to court documents.

Scott Reid and his attorney were scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 20 for a hearing regarding the fate of Reid's assets. The hearing was continued until Jan. 4, 2013, at the request of the housing authority, which cited the discovery of the online trading accounts as the cause. SHA will seek to lump together any money in the accounts with Lisa Reid's other assets.

Earlier this year, a superior court judge denied a request by the housing authority to grant a temporary restraining order against Lisa Reid's assets without holding a hearing on the matter. The order would keep Scott Reid from selling or giving away any of his late wife's assets.

In March, the housing authority and Scott Reid came to an agreement to put off further legal action for 90 days. The agreement was meant to allow attorneys to determine the ownership of all assets once owned by Lisa Reid.

In the interim, Scott Reid voluntarily agreed to provide at least 10 days notice to an attorney representing the housing authority before transferring any asset of his late wife's worth more than $1,000. He also agreed to place all income from the couple's furniture store, Cozy Home Primitives, into a trust fund.

The housing authority, through its attorney, contends several assets now under Scott Reid's control were potentially purchased with funds stolen from the SHA. Those assets include time shares and/or condominiums in Florida, a Jeep, a recreational vehicle, and the money used to lease space for the couple's furniture store.